West Chester Drops Opener at West Liberty Tip-Off Classic

Box Score

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Chester put four players in double figures, but Notre Dame College (Ohio) secured a 96-87 victory over the Golden Rams in the opening game of the West Liberty Tip-Off Tournament Friday evening.
 
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) scored a team-best 19 points while three other teammates added 17. But, NDC had three players go over 20 points in the contest. The Falcons shot 54.8 percent (34-for-62) in the game, including 57 percent (19 of 33) in the second half.
 
West Chester, which trailed by just one at the break (50-49), shot just 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) after halftime. That enabled Notre Dame College to build a 17-point lead with 7:29 left in the game. The Golden Rams chipped away at the lead, but could not get any closer than eight points the rest of the way. The Falcons blocked nine shots and registered 10 steals defensively.
 
Ryan Skovranko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Lincoln Park Charter) and Dashon Giddings (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) each put up 17 points as starters in their West Chester debuts. Mike Jolaoso (Philadelphia, Pa./Episcopal Academy) added a career-high 17 as well.
 
Notre Dame College's Will Vorhees (27), Drew Scarberry (24) and Kyauta Taylor (21) combined for 72 of the Falcons' 96 points in the game. The Falcons used just seven players total in the win.
 
West Chester will take on the preseason No. 1 team in all Division II, host West Liberty, on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the final game of the West Liberty Tip-Off Classic.